352: prelude!

Everyone's expressions changed in unison, looking at Lord Jin Dan with awe.

This was the power of a Marquis-level Immortal; it was truly terrifying!

Inside the hall, silence reigned, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard!

"Understood!"

"Is this what Undying power is? It's still a bit scary!"

Even Chen Fan's forehead broke out in a few beads of sweat; he had only witnessed such terrifying pressure many times before.

Fear!

Awe!

These two emotions instantly filled the hearts of all the geniuses, making them naturally feel their own insignificance.

"Good that you understand!"

"And—"

"Chen Fan, Luo Feng, Wang Teng, Ma Liang, Rong Jun!!!" As Lord Jin Dan's gaze swept over them, his voice, like a grand bell, echoed throughout the entire Void Island.

"Lord Jin Dan, what can I do for you?" Chen Fan looked up, meeting his gaze.

His eyes were bright and innocent, without a trace of fear.

"You five are the only hope of our Qianwu Universe Country. Lord Qianwu places great expectations on you. You must... not disappoint him, understand?" the giant in golden armor said.

"Understood!" x5

"As for the others, struggle hard, and perhaps you'll have a chance to become the final genius!" Lord Jin Dan's gaze casually swept over the others.

However, his eyes lingered for a moment on the area where the Black Dragon Mountain Empire was located, then looked back at Chen Fan's position, revealing a meaningful smile.

Afterward, under the leadership of Lord Jin Dan, Chen Fan and the thousand geniuses were simultaneously teleported to a new plane opened within the Virtual Universe.

A vast and boundless continent.

At this moment, several white-robed middle-aged men were already waiting here. As soon as Chen Fan and his group appeared, they were immediately welcomed.

"Lord Jin Dan, long time no see!"

"Your Qianwu Universe Country's team has been assigned to building number 0825 in the 1008 buildings!"

"Good!" The golden-armored giant nodded and led the team directly over.

Chen Fan looked up and saw that the 1008 buildings in the distance formed a ring, with a super-large garden plaza of unknown size in the center.

Rockeries, ponds, flying birds, and swimming fish complemented each other, making it incredibly beautiful!

As soon as it appeared, it attracted the attention of countless people.

"Wow!"

"It's so beautiful here!"

"Let's go to our area!" Lord Jin Dan's voice echoed.

Then, a large group of people walked majestically along the edge of the garden directly towards their rooms.

"Look, this time the leader of the Qianwu Universe Country isn't 'Thirteen,' but Lord Jin Dan!"

"Who cares who's leading them? The Qianwu Universe Country is just a bottom-ranked country; no need to pay attention to them!"

"Yeah, their performance in previous sessions has always been so poor. This time, it'll probably be about the same. Their ranking will be similar to their building number, more or less!"

"..."

Around them, whispers began to rise.

At this moment, Lord Jin Dan stopped, his gaze unfriendly as he looked around: "All of you, shut! Up!"

A vast pressure swept through the surroundings, and those who were discussing all grunted.

"Jin Dan, it's just idle chatter among juniors, why are you getting so angry!"

"Yeah, you know how strong your Qianwu Universe Country is, why won't you let others talk about it!"

Two figures descended from the sky, directly nullifying Lord Jin Dan's pressure.

"Marquis Mo Xin, Marquis Bai Zhan!"

"Hmph, you just wait and see!"

With a cold snort, Lord Jin Dan accelerated forward: "Let's go!"

"They just left like that, how boring!"

Looking at the two suddenly appearing giant figures, Chen Fan vaguely felt that their aura was much stronger than Lord Jin Dan's!

At the entrance to building 0825, geniuses from other Universe Countries gathered in groups of three to five.

"Look, that's Chen Fan from the Qianwu Universe Country, in white clothes, so handsome!"

"His aura is so steady too. The one next to him holding a long spear must be Wang Teng, the Spear Demon!"

"And Ma Liang, the Dual-Blade God of War, he's so cool too!"

"..."

Soon, the other Universe Country teams began discussing the genius team from the Qianwu Universe Country.

All of this originated from the Lord of the Qianwu Universe Country, the universe's first debtor—Lord Qianwu!

In Chen Fan's group, the genius team of the Qianwu Universe Country, hearing the discussions of others, many gritted their teeth.

They were all individuals who could make it into the top thousand of a Universe Country; every one of them was an exceptional talent.

However, now these people only recognized 'Chen Fan,' 'Ma Liang,' and others, and had no interest in them at all.

This strongly stimulated their self-confidence.

"God of Slaughter, did you hear that?" The green-haired youth, Tian Xie, said, "They really like you. How about you get a few girls from other Universe Countries for our Qianwu Universe Country?"

"Get lost!" Chen Fan merely gave Tian Xie a faint glance and replied with one word.

"Don't be like that. If you don't want them, then I'll go chat them up!" Tian Xie stroked his full head of green hair, smiling sheepishly.

Since his defeat at Ma Liang's hands, this top genius had gone through the arena elimination rounds and three years of reincarnation battles before finally reviving.

Compared to Chen Fan's direct advancement, he had undoubtedly endured many times more hardship.

However, Chen Fan and the other Earth martial artists had undergone closed-door training during these years, achieving an unimaginable degree of improvement.

Including Ma Liang, Wang Teng, Hong, and Luo Feng, the top few individuals' comprehension of the third law of origin had also gradually improved, and their strength was no longer comparable to when they first participated in the Genius Battle.

"KhaZix, I see you're holding it in too much. If you want to laugh, just laugh!" Ma Liang looked at the top genius of the Dark Night Mantis race, teasing him with a smile.

"First, let me clarify, I absolutely have no intention of mocking you!"

"I just thought of something funny!"

Hearing Ma Liang's words, KhaZix quickly waved his hands, his face full of smiles.

He had once had the good fortune to spar with this 'God of War Ma Liang.'

Although it was only one battle, it left an indelible mark in the heart of this top genius... Just like that, the Qianwu Universe Country genius team followed Lord Jin Dan directly into building 0825.

"These are your number plates. After you receive them, you can choose to move freely or rest!"

With that, Lord Jin Dan waved his hand, and individual black iron number plates floated down, suspended in front of everyone.

Chen Fan reached out and directly grabbed a '1'.

Ma Liang, Wang Teng, Luo Feng, and Hong also reached out and took their respective number plates.

After all a thousand geniuses had received their number plates, a loud voice boomed—

"You may now disperse. When it gets dark, the organizers of this Universe Genius Battle will gather you. There's no need to panic!"

With that, Lord Jin Dan strode away from the area...